1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an enclosed belt conveyor assembly and more particularly to an enclosed belt conveyor assembly including a conveyor belt which has a wiper element provided thereon which pulls material that has been spilled onto the inner surface of the bottom wall of the conveyor housing towards the tail section of the conveyor assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Enclosed belt conveyor assemblies have been manufactured for many years for conveying particulate material from one location to another. A prior art enclosed belt conveyor assembly is sold by InterSystems of Omaha, Nebr., under the trademark xe2x80x9cRollerFLO(trademark)xe2x80x9d. The enclosed belt conveyor system of InterSystems includes head and tail sections having one or more intermediate conveyor sections assembled therebetween. A tail pulley is mounted in the tail section for rotation about a horizontal lateral axis. A head pulley is provided in the head section for rotation about a horizontal lateral axis. At least one conveyor belt idler roller is provided in the intermediate section for rotation about a horizontal lateral axis.
An endless flexible conveyor belt is trained longitudinally over the head pulley and the tail pulley and extends through the intermediate conveyor section or sections so as to define an upward forward run from the tail pulley to the head pulley and a lower return run from the head pulley to the tail pulley. The conveyor belt idler roller or rollers in the intermediate section carry a portion of the forward run of the conveyor belt. Material is deposited onto the upper forward run of the conveyor belt and is carried thereon towards the head section where the material is discharged. The material being carried on the forward run sometimes spills from the sides thereof and falls onto the upper surface of the conveyor belt return run.
Although the InterSystems conveyor works extremely well in most conditions, when the conveyor is being used to convey tobacco leaves or the like, the material which sometimes spills from the forward run of the conveyor belt downwardly towards the return run of the conveyor belt can become trapped beneath the lower surface of the return run above the bottom wall of the intermediate section. Additionally, the tobacco leaves sometimes adhere to the upper surface of the forward run and are not discharged therefrom which results in some tobacco leaves accumulating on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the intermediate section below the return run of the conveyor belt. Over a period of time, the accumulation of the material on the bottom wall of the intermediate section or sections can create a problem.
An enclosed belt conveyor assembly for conveying material along a forward longitudinal path of travel is disclosed and includes a head section, a tail section and one or more intermediate conveyor sections. The head section includes a head pulley mounted thereon for rotation about a horizontal lateral axis. The tail section includes a tail pulley for rotation about a horizontal lateral axis. One or more conveyor belt idler rollers are provided in the intermediate section or sections for rotation about a horizontal lateral axis. An endless flexible conveyor belt is trained longitudinally over the head pulley and the tail pulley and extends through the intermediate conveyor section to define an upper forward run from the tail pulley to the head pulley, and a lower return run from the head pulley to the tail pulley. The conveyor belt idler rollers in the intermediate section carry a portion of the forward run of the conveyor belt. The tail section includes a tail pulley shroud which substantially encloses the tail pulley and the rear portion of the conveyor belt return run. At least one wiper element is provided on the conveyor belt in a close relationship with respect to the inner surface of the bottom wall of the intermediate conveyor section for pulling material, that has spilled onto the inner surface of the bottom wall, towards the tail section. The tail pulley shroud has an inner surface which is closely positioned to the conveyor belt as the conveyor belt passes around the tail pulley so that as the wiper element passes through the tail section, the wiper will cause at least some of the spilled material being pulled thereby to be directed to the rearward end of the forward run for conveying to the desired discharged location. Preferably, the wiper element extends substantially across the width of the conveyor belt and has a thickness which is approximately one to two times as thick as the conveyor belt. The upper element is adhesively secured to the conveyor belt or mechanically fastened thereto.
A principal object of the invention is to provide an improved enclosed belt conveyor assembly.
A further object of the invention is to provide an enclosed belt conveyor assembly including an endless flexible conveyor belt having one or more transversely extending wiper elements mounted thereon for pulling material, that has spilled onto the inner surface of the bottom wall of the intermediate section, towards the tail section.
A further object of the invention is to provide an enclosed belt conveyor assembly including a wiper element mounted thereon which assists in removing material such as tobacco leaves which has accumulated on the inner surface of the bottom wall of the intermediate section of the conveyor.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.